The child should be brought to realise the solidarity of mankind and to have a feeling of community, indifferent to class or nation or race.

(Drummond, 1929, History in Schools)

 
The reason for teaching history is not that it changes society, but that it changes pupils; it changes what they see in the world, and how they see it. To say someone has learnt history is to say something very wide ranging about the way in which he or she is likely to make sense of the world. History offers a way of seeing almost any substantive issue in human affairs, subject to certain procedures and standards, whatever feelings one may have.
(Lee, 1992, History in school: aims, purposes and approaches)

 
The study of history of any kind is important because it teaches and hones analytical skills. The ability to weigh and judge evidence and to discriminate between fact and fabrication should not lightly be disregarded. In a world of spin, dodgy dossiers and forged contracts, such skills are at a higher premium than ever before. The overriding purpose of education is to teach us when a person is talking rot.

(Morris, 2003, The Guardian, 10 May: 23)

 
Our purpose is not to point a moral or to adorn a tale, but without some perspective as to what ought to be valued in human life and on what grounds, there can be little meaning or significance in history for our pupils or for us.

(Partington, G. (1980) The idea of an historical education)

 
All children must understand such key concepts such as empire, monarch, crown, church, nobility, peasantry. Public education systems contribute to a willingness of persons to define themselves as citizens, to make personal sacrifices for the community and to accept legitimate decisions of public officials.

(Patten, 1994, BBC Television broadcast)

 
School history should help pupils understand how a free and democratic society has developed over the centuries, stressing Britain’s political constitutional and cultural heritage.

(Kenneth Baker, 1989, Daily Telegraph, 3rd April)

 
History for its own sake, history for explaining and understanding the present, history for understanding other cultures, history for political and economic awareness (old style citizenship, often seen as history for tolerance and international understanding), history for appreciation of national heritage, or history as a process not a content.

(Historical Association, 1988, History in the National Curriculum: 15.

 
History is the body of known facts about the activities and sufferings of the social groups with which our own lives are continuous, and through reference to which our own customs and institutions are illuminated.

(Dewey, 1916, Democracy and Education)

 
A subject that insists on the critical evaluation of evidence and encourages the analysis of problems and the communication of ideas, not only contributes to pupils’ general education but develops skills and perceptions that increase the employability of young people.
(H.M.I., History in the primary and secondary years, London, HMSO: 12.)